# How do I partition my hard drive in Win XP, and any risks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 22, 2004, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-partition-my-hard-drive-in-win-xp-and-any-risks/270544 "2004-10-22T03:21:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-partition-my-hard-drive-in-win-xp-and-any-risks/270544/1 "2004-10-22T03:21:51Z")
I am currently dealing with three conflicting issues: [ul] [li]For some odd reason, my hard drive is F:, and I understand Win XP will not let me change this without some ridiculously complex process.[/li][li]My Palm software firmly rejects the possibility of anyone’s not having a drive C: and gives me no option to install on any other drive.[/li][li]Simcity 4 insists that the CD-ROM drive letter be one more than the last hard-drive letter, and also will go into spasm if you happen to have hard drives more than one letter apart.[/li][/ul] These being the case, I had the idea of partitioning my hard drive to add drives C:, D:, and E:. I would use C: to store the Palm software and D: and E: for not much. [ol] [li]How do I partition my drive?[/li][li]Are there any foreseeable problems (e.g. will I find that my computer will cease to function out of confusion from having a C: drive with nothing on it to boot from)?[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![initech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/439d5e/32.png) [@initech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/initech)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-partition-my-hard-drive-in-win-xp-and-any-risks/270544/2 "2004-10-22T06:19:19Z")
Partition Magic 8.0 from Norton. Very simple interface and rock solid performance, although backups are highly recommended. This software allows you to divide your drive into multiple partitions, change drive letters (although I don’t think it will change the system drive) and copy partitions. Money well spent… ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-partition-my-hard-drive-in-win-xp-and-any-risks/270544/3 "2004-10-22T07:03:46Z")
Oh, I didn’t know you needed a separate program… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Balduran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Balduran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balduran)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-partition-my-hard-drive-in-win-xp-and-any-risks/270544/4 "2004-10-22T12:57:21Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > Oh, I didn’t know you needed a separate program… ☹ If you want to keep your data you do. If you don’t mind erasing everything and starting fresh you can use fdisk (is that still available in windows?). A warning about partition magic. It is actually TOO EASY to use. If you are not paying attention you can wreck your system with a couple of clicks. Review all changes you make a few times before you actually commit anything. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-partition-my-hard-drive-in-win-xp-and-any-risks/270544/5 "2004-10-22T13:00:33Z")
If you’re starting again from scratch, partitioning and letter assignment is part of the standard setup procedure. No need for Fdisk. ---
**Author:** ![Balduran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Balduran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balduran)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-partition-my-hard-drive-in-win-xp-and-any-risks/270544/6 "2004-10-22T13:16:54Z")
From my experience with computer threads here, make sure you get at least one other person to agree with any opinion given before you take action on it. > [@matt\_mcl](#): > > [li]Are there any foreseeable problems (e.g. will I find that my computer will cease to function out of confusion from having a C: drive with nothing on it to boot from)?[/li][/list] Changing drive letters is a concern if you change your boot letter, but since you are only putting data in C and leaving F as it is, you will probably be okay. From [http://www.dougknox.com/tips/xp\_drive\_letters.htm](http://www.dougknox.com/tips/xp_drive_letters.htm) , > [@](#): > > You will not be able to change the boot or system drive letter in this manner. Many MS-DOS-based and Windows-based programs make references to a specific drive letter (for example, environment variables). If you modify the drive letter, these programs may not function correctly. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-partition-my-hard-drive-in-win-xp-and-any-risks/270544/7 "2004-10-22T13:30:28Z")
For my reference, if I decided to go all out and reinstall Windows in order to change my drive letter, how would I a) change the f: drive to c: and b) ensure the c: drive was the boot drive? ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-partition-my-hard-drive-in-win-xp-and-any-risks/270544/8 "2004-10-22T14:13:05Z")
There is an alternative solution which might fool your programs into working. Right-click on **My Computer** , hit **Map Network Drive** , set the drive to C:, and type in the path **\\\f$** where \ is the name of your machine. Make sure the **Reconnect at logon** box is checked and hit **Finish**. Now your F: drive should be mapped as C:. You can also use the command **subst \\\f$** , though I’m not sure if this will give you a persistent mapping. ---
**Author:** ![browolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@browolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/browolf)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-partition-my-hard-drive-in-win-xp-and-any-risks/270544/9 "2004-10-22T14:55:38Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > For my reference, if I decided to go all out and reinstall Windows in order to change my drive letter, how would I > > a) change the f: drive to c: and > b) ensure the c: drive was the boot drive? the only time i’ve ever known a computer to give me a different drive letter for the boot drive is when i once upgraded a win2kpro to a win2k server. it had created ‘new drives’ in disk administrator but still had the win2kpro ones greyed out. the c: drive had become the h: drive. it wouldnt let me remove the greyed out ones. It also managed to loose 40gb of backups i’d just made. had to completely repartition and reinstall. if you were to reinstall and repartition, i dont know any reason why your boot drive wouldnt automatically become the c: drive. even if windows allowed you to easily rename the drive to c: you have another problem in that all your programs and configuration settings would be looking for a f: drive. ---
**Author:** ![Balduran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Balduran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balduran)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-partition-my-hard-drive-in-win-xp-and-any-risks/270544/10 "2004-10-22T15:09:19Z")
> [@Number](#): > > There is an alternative solution which might fool your programs into working. Right-click on **My Computer** , hit **Map Network Drive** , set the drive to C:, and type in the path **\\\f$** where \ is the name of your machine. Make sure the **Reconnect at logon** box is checked and hit **Finish**. Now your F: drive should be mapped as C:. > > You can also use the command **subst \\\f$** , though I’m not sure if this will give you a persistent mapping. This sounds like a pretty good idea to try first **matt**. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-partition-my-hard-drive-in-win-xp-and-any-risks/270544/11 "2004-10-22T15:14:35Z")
If you wipe your system and reinstall Windows, very early during the windows setup user interface you will have the option to create as many partitions as you like, and will have the option to install windows on whichever partition you like. If you are up for a complete nuke and pave of your system, this would be very easy. Once windows setup is complete, take a look at your system and make sure it is configured the way you want it. If you find you’ve made a mistake, no biggie, just wipe your system and try again. But you should only get the folderol described below if you are “upgrading” your system. I would advise against “upgrading”, given the countless stories I’ve heard of problems. Of course, plenty of people do it without problems. But why take a chance? Better to back up your data, wipe the system, and do a clean install. However, make sure any data you save is backed up somewhere else other than the computer you are formatting, even if the data is on a second hard drive or a partition of your hard drive that you will be keeping, like on CDs, or on another computer in your network. It is very easy to wipe out data while trying to reformat, and generally you don’t get a second chance. The safest thing is to burn your data to CDs and verify that you can access the data on the CDs from another machine. Because sometimes CD burning software requires you to “close” the CD before it is readable by any machine I would advise taking a few minutes to make sure that the CDs aren’t in whatever proprietary format the CD burner has. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-partition-my-hard-drive-in-win-xp-and-any-risks/270544/12 "2004-10-22T15:18:27Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > But you should only get the folderol described below if you are “upgrading” your system. By this I meant the sort of troubles described by Browolf ABOVE. As well as other problems of other sorts. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-partition-my-hard-drive-in-win-xp-and-any-risks/270544/13 "2004-10-23T04:03:05Z")
> [@Number](#): > > There is an alternative solution which might fool your programs into working. Right-click on **My Computer** , hit **Map Network Drive** , set the drive to C:, and type in the path **\\\f$** where \ is the name of your machine. Make sure the **Reconnect at logon** box is checked and hit **Finish**. Now your F: drive should be mapped as C: I tried this, but it said “The network path \matthew-b8kx0js\f$ could not be found.” Did I do something wrong? matthew-b8kx0js is what My Computer/Properties/Computer Name gives for “full computer name”. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-partition-my-hard-drive-in-win-xp-and-any-risks/270544/14 "2004-10-23T04:11:46Z")
Try turning off **Use simple file sharing** under **Tools|Folder Options** then share your F: drive by right-clicking on it, hitting **Properties** , and going to the **Sharing** tab. Give the new share a name (just **F** would work), then map C: to **\matthew-b8kx0js\F**. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-partition-my-hard-drive-in-win-xp-and-any-risks/270544/15 "2004-10-23T04:23:08Z")
I couldn’t find “use simple file sharing,” and I’m not sure what a new share is. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-partition-my-hard-drive-in-win-xp-and-any-risks/270544/16 "2004-10-23T04:48:46Z")
Ok, I forgot about how everything is moved around in XP Home. Right-click on the F: drive and hit **Sharing and Security**. Click the **I understand the risk but still want to share the root of the drive** link. Select **Just enable file sharing** and hit **OK**. Then check **Share this folder on the network** and **Allow network users to change my files**. Enter **F** in the **Share name** box. Hit **OK** and then try mapping the C: drive to **\matthew-b8kx0js\F**. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-partition-my-hard-drive-in-win-xp-and-any-risks/270544/17 "2004-10-23T05:12:25Z")
Oh, it goes without saying that you should have a software firewall like ZoneAlarm in place if your machine is not behind a NAT router or hardware firewall. Sharing your files with the whole world is not a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-partition-my-hard-drive-in-win-xp-and-any-risks/270544/18 "2004-10-23T05:29:25Z")
I believe there’s an easier route. Right click ‘My Computer’, left click ‘manage’, below ‘storage’ is ‘disk management’. Left click that, and your drive(s) will show to the right. Right click the drive icon you wish to change, and select ‘change drive letter and paths’ from the drop down menu. That’s what I’m seeing in XP Pro. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-partition-my-hard-drive-in-win-xp-and-any-risks/270544/19 "2004-10-23T05:35:15Z")
You can’t change the letter of the system or boot partition.